Karma: Opposite Side

Difference

During the day, Aron and his group had traveled fifty kilometers from the City of Clouds.

Together with Kim Yoon and Aron himself, there were only six people, including one woman.

From a brief introduction, Aron learned that they were all Koreans who had come to the City of Clouds with Kim Yoon five years ago. However, because Aron was just an ordinary human, his presence was often underestimated. If it weren't for Kim Yoon, he believed he might never have been invited to join this group.

Only Yuuna, a kind-hearted woman in her thirties and the only female in the group, who possessed the strength of a late-stage skin purification martial artist, was still willing to talk to him.

Perhaps because they were in the same cart pulled by a horse, or maybe because Kim Yoon had assigned her to look after Aron, Yuuna began to talk a lot during the journey.

"We will soon arrive at the border of the human city," she said.

Aron nodded, listening to Yuuna's explanation, and began to ask, "After the border, how far is it to our destination?"

"The distance is only about 20 kilometers, and the place is quite hidden. If nothing happens, we should arrive there before evening." As Yuuna answered, they had already reached the border.

Although it was called a border, there were actually no fences or signs to mark territorial ownership. There were only a few posts guarded by soldiers who were constantly patrolling.

These soldiers were part of the martial artists who now guarded and protected the borders of the human city. Besides looking strong, stern, and fierce, they were also equipped with various self-defense tools.

Of course, with the era of technology having changed, no modern weapons were used anymore; everything relied on cold weapons like spears, knives, swords, and so on. Aron even saw a few human-sized beasts at several points.

When they arrived at a checkpoint, besides Aron, Kim Yoon, Yuuna, and the others dismounted from their horses, handing a pentagonal iron plate to the guard.

During the inspection, when the soldiers accidentally saw Aron, an ordinary human carrying a pistol and several firearms on his body, they sneered a little and looked at him with disgust.

"Are you confused as to why they underestimate firearms that were once difficult for ordinary people to use, now appearing no better than a few-inch knife?" Yuuna, who had just returned from the inspection, asked, noticing Aron's confusion.

"I might understand, but I'm still not sure; do firearms really not work on those monsters?" Aron was filled with doubt, as all this time, when hunting, the firearms he owned were still useful for killing mutated animals.

However, upon seeing the weapons of the guards earlier, Aron felt that those weapons were completely different from ordinary weapons. Whether it was sharpness, durability, or strength, he felt they were truly different from the weapons he knew.

Yuuna chuckled softly at Aron's doubts, but she kindly explained, "Firearms, although still useful, when you actually encounter a wild beast that has become a monster, firearms will be useless. Not only can they not kill, but they are also very difficult to even penetrate its skin."

"Are those monsters really abnormal?" Aron was somewhat shocked and disbelieving.

"This is our world now," Yuuna sighed slightly and continued to explain, "Don't say that it's a mutated wild beast; you should also know that for us, skin purification martial artists, firearms like pistols do not scare me."

Aron's mouth opened and closed. He was silent, truly unsure how to react.

Are firearms really no longer useful?

Aron's worldview began to change, and it shook him.

"If you don't believe it," Yuuna suddenly took the pistol Aron carried and aimed it at her own palm. Then, with a bang and Aron's shock, he saw something hard to believe.

"How is that possible!"

Incredibly, the bullet from the pistol could not penetrate Yuuna's skin at all. Although her skin was somewhat silvery, the mark of a skin purification martial artist appeared slightly reddened from the recent shot, Aron found that the bullet truly did not penetrate Yuuna's skin.

Martial artists, are they really that strong? If it were him, wouldn't he be covered in blood by now?

"Martial artists, even if only in the first realm, their strength is vastly different from ordinary humans," Yuuna explained while returning the pistol to the still-dumbfounded Aron, "Purifying blood and qi to strengthen the skin through difficult training. When you successfully break through to the early stage of skin purification, your skin will turn silvery as a sign that you have become a martial artist. Even if you are just a beginner skin purification martial artist, firearms like pistols and ordinary swords cannot harm you. But there are exceptions."

Yuuna now took a knife from her waist and sliced her palm.

A shocking scene occurred again. The knife easily grazed Yuuna's palm, which had previously been impervious to firearms.

"This..." Aron didn't know what to say, only looking at the knife in Yuuna's hand with doubt and questions.

"This is a special knife. Although it cannot be called a magical weapon, in certain cases, it can still injure a martial artist. But if used against those monsters, the answer is impossible." Yuuna's explanation truly astonished Aron and made him feel extraordinary.

"If weapons that are stronger and sharper than firearms cannot injure those monsters, then how can we fight them?" As he asked this, Aron finally understood why the soldiers at the border had so underestimated his weapons.

Using firearms to fight monsters, isn't that like someone trying to hit a rock with an egg?

"There are two ways. First, use your own strength to fight. Of course, in this case, you must have the strength to do so. The second way is to use magical weapons." As she said her last words, Yuuna took a bow that had been on her back.

When Aron saw the bow, he felt intrigued and noticed that there was a slight difference from the previous knife. There was an aura surrounding it, making the weapon appear strong, strange, and incomprehensible. Although the bow was made of wood, Aron felt that its durability and strength had similarities to what the soldiers at the border held.

"Is this a magical weapon?" While asking, Aron tried to examine it and was surprised to find a cold sensation when he touched it.

Yuuna smiled playfully at Aron's astonishment, but she did not let him continue holding it and asked for it back.

"A magical weapon, in terms of sharpness, durability, and strength, far surpasses ordinary firearms. This is a type of weapon specifically used to kill certain monsters. Cutting or injuring their skin will be as easy as cutting tofu."

"Very powerful!" Aron felt amazed and, with a hint of envy, asked, "Can I have one too?"

"If you have at least 10,000 Marks, I can help you get the standard magical weapon you want. But I advise you not to buy it until you become a martial artist." This answer immediately extinguished Aron's enthusiasm and spirit.

Let alone owning and buying it, he didn't even dare to think about it.

Thinking about 10,000 Marks? Aron had no idea and had never held that much money. Even if he had that much money, he would never think of buying it.

As for waiting to become a martial artist, Aron was truly uncertain. Could he become a martial artist, or at least get a legacy like the others?

Thinking about these points, he chose to forget them.

"Stop!"

Kim Yoon's shout from the front suddenly caught Aron's attention. Soon after, a rumbling sound accompanied by howls and vibrations in the ground changed his expression.

"There are several first-level monsters running towards us. Everyone, get ready!"